Bromley: Council tax increase of 3.99 per cent and £19m in cuts

As part of the borough’s budget agreement, a council tax increase of 1.99 per cent will be combined with a two per cent precept for adult social care to make up the 3.99 per cent increase.

There will also be around £19 million in cuts made to balance the 2016–2017 budget.

Council leader Cllr Stephen Carr said the increase was necessary to meet the care costs for Bromley’s ageing population.

He said: “We have had to make this increase in council tax this year to help balance the budget and have introduced the two per cent precept allowed by the Chancellor to help meet the costs of care as our population ages and more people have complex care needs.

“This is particularly acute in Bromley where we have a larger-than-average ageing population.

“During our budget consultation last year many residents again said they understood the need for a rise in council tax to help protect essential services.

“We have the lowest funding per head of population in London and as budgets contract, we have to do things differently, even stopping some services.

Bromley Council leader Stephen Carr

“Supporting people to be more self-sufficient with signposting to online services, for instance, helps to conserve limited funding for those who need help most and for services that reflect the priorities of local residents.”

Bromley’s Labour councillors called the approach unsustainable and accused the Tories of prioritising privatisation of services and building up an investment portfolio instead of residents’ wellbeing.

Labour Cllr Ian Dunn said: “In the last few years Bromley Tories have spent £62m on commercial property investments.

“We recognise that there is a good rate of return on these, but they plan to spend a further £23m over the next three years and we think it is obscene to do this and then cut services, particularly care services for adults and children.”

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Cllr Carr told News Shopper that adult services are being “restructured and recommissioned”.

He said: “Apart from those people who will no longer have services subsidised by the local authority – this might be etching or jewellery making – there will be little impact on services in the next year.

“I don’t think subsidising people to make jewellery can compete with priority services for elderly people or children.

“The bottom line is there will be very little impact on front line services.”

Labour Cllr Angela Wilkins said: “Many of these cuts could have been avoided and can be avoided in the next few years.”

The rise means that residents will pay £1,347 in Council Tax for a Band D property for 2015–2016 compared to £1,325 in 2015–2016.